A new open access paper, co-authored by DIJ’s Sébastien Lechevalier and Malo Mofakhami analyses the diverse effects of the first wave of digitalization on job satisfaction through a comparison between Japan and France. The study neither finds substantial differences between the two countries regarding the impact of digital use on work organization practices nor a direct effect of digital use on job satisfaction. However, digital use is correlated to some work organization practices, such as autonomy, flexibility, and learning, through which it has positive mediated effects. The major source of the digital divide, in terms of satisfaction, is, in both countries, related to the perceived absence of digital skills by some workers. “Assessing job satisfaction in the era of digital transformation: a comparative study of the first wave of tasks digitalization in Japan and France” is published online first in the European Business Review (Springer). 

A new book chapter by DIJ researcher Carolin Fleischer-Heininger analyses the novel ‘Chiryō-tō’ (Therapy Station, 1990) by the Japanese Nobel Prize laureate Ōe Kenzaburō with regard to its two contrasting visions of the future. The first shows a technology-based, exclusive society of the ‘chosen’, the second an inclusive community of ‘failures’. Using the depiction of intellectual disability – particularly through the character of Hikari – the novel criticises destructive narratives of progress and creates a vision of a more humane society. The text is interpreted as a time-critical commentary on Japan’s affinity for technology and as a plea for more inclusion. Carolin’s chapter “Zwischen destruktivem Fortschritt und inklusiver Menschengerechtigkeit: Zukunftsentwürfe als Zeitkritik und Kompass in Chiryō-tō von Ōe Kenzaburō (1935–2023)” is published in the volume Regenerative Zukünfte und künstliche Intelligenz: SDG-Forschung, Konzepte, Lösungsansätze zur Nachhaltigkeit (SpringerVS 2024), co-edited by Kai Gondlach, Birgit Brinkmann, Mark Brinkmann, and Julia Plath.

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In his chapter “Korea and the League of Nations: from Versailles to the Manchurian Crisis, 1919–1933” Dolf-Alexander Neuhaus examines the relationship between the Korean independence movement and the League of Nations. The chapter elucidates the complex interactions between non-sovereign entities like Korea under Japanese rule and the international organization, offering insights into how Koreans and anti-Japanese nationalists perceived and engaged with the League of Nations during the interwar period. In 1919, when the League was established, Koreans were denied the right to self-govern. However, individuals and factions within the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea still sought to utilize the League for their ends in the 1920s and early 1930s. By exploring these diplomatic and political dynamics, the chapter presents a nuanced picture of Korea’s struggle for recognition and national self-determination within the broader context of international politics. The chapter is published in The League of Nations Experience: Overlapping Readings  (De Gruyter 2025).

In her book chapter “Thomas Mann bei Mishima Yukio, Kita Morio und Tsuji Kunio: Verehrungspathos und Neuverortung als Vorbedingungen einer produktiven kulturüberschreitenden Rezeption” (in German), DIJ researcher Nicole M. Mueller sheds new light on the reception of Thomas Mann’s literary works by the Japanese authors Mishima Yukio, Kita Morio, and Tsuji Kunio. The idealization of Mann had been an essential element of Japan’s cultural modernization and westernization in the first decades of the 20th century, making him one of the larger-than-life figureheads of Japan’s prewar academic elite. Mishima and his contemporaries developed novel modes of reception based on a critical analysis of Mann’s work. Nicole’s chapter examines the extent to which Mishima’s, Kita’s, and Tsuji’s reception of Mann was conditioned by historical context and what characteristics make cross-cultural literary reception “productive”. The chapter is published in the edited volume Thomas Mann produktiv rezipiert. Zum Fortleben von Werk und Autor (Brill/Fink 2025).

A new open access research article by Antonia Miserka (University of Vienna) and DIJ social scientist Sebastian Polak-Rottmann analyses the relationship between female civic engagement and subjective well-being. Their article “Happiness as a by-product – the impact of civic engagement on women’s well-being in rural Japan”, published in Japan Forum (online first), is based on qualitative interviews and participant observation in a rural area in southern Japan. The analysis shows that (a) making others happy, (b) acting for oneself, and (c) the process of acting with others all have a beneficial impact on subjective well-being. In this regard, the findings support relational approaches to subjective well-being. More specifically, the reciprocity of well-being within social relationships helps to explain how civic engagement leads to higher well-being in rural Japan. The article is an outcome of Sebastian’s research project Supplementing activities of resilience: The impact of demographic change on local activities and civic engagement.